..but almost inevidably going Bluray later of course, unless the studio support changes dramatically, which I doubt. Gonna have to live with two formats for now.

Anyway I wanted Heroes Season 1, that was the first big thing, then as I read on and on, it seems to me that HD DVD wasn't the doomed and already-dead format all the Bluray followers wanted and still wants it to look like.

I almost had my mind made up, then I read a very fine article for my final decision to start out on HD DVD. It's VERY unbiased, it explains why we should care for anything better than DVD anyway and it gives some very well-founded arguments on it's recommendations. Here's the beginning quoted for your convenience ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by HDTV Magazine

No, this is not the standard HD DVD vs. Blu-ray article that you may be used to reading. I am not declaring a "winner" because I think we are at a point now where neither camp is going away. Instead, this article explains which format I believe is the better choice for the consumer (you) this holiday season. Could that change a year from now? Sure, but I want to help you decide what to buy this year.

This article is not written in an attempt to convince anyone who has already made an investment one way or the other, for that is an almost impossible feat. It was written for those that are still "on the fence", as they say. It is for those who are either undecided, or are waiting to see which one will come out ahead (or which will be first to waive the white flag). It's time to hop down off of that fence.

EDIT: Well as you know I changed my mind (thread title has been changed as well). I'm still pretty neutral but would now prefer if Blu-ray could win and end the format war quickly. I changed my mind when I read the other article where I also read through all the 5 pages of comments which took me about 2-3 hours but was well worth it. I've also accounted for my choice in the post in this page, the one posted by Gandalf 30 Nov 2007 17:33.

Get the format which has the most movies you want to watch period. If you have a PS3, you have a great Bluray player. HD DVD players are nearing $100 these days so you can have the best of both worlds cheap if you own a PS3 already.

IMO the fact that Blu-Ray allows executables to be run on your computer without your permission via BD+ Advanced Countermeasure automatically makes it by far the less consumer friendly choice. I won't let a BD drive or disc within 10 feet of my computer!

wtf? you changed your mind? i just bought an HD-DVD player because you said so, now you changed your mind? damnit.

wtf I feel kinda guilty now :o
But don't worry I'm still largely neutral and if you bought the X360 extension or 99$ player that is still very cheap, especially if you also take advantage of many of the many BOGO sales that's out there currently and will give you lots of good HD experiences and I can hardly see that as wasted money AT ALL ;)

Besides several experts actually predicts that both formats will survive and live side by side and that people in the future will go with the combo players as both camps have a somewhat esablished base of early adopters now. That would reduce the whole BD vs. HD question to a matter of what you adopt first for the sake of the exclusive libraries. And I could in fact be wrong after all. And depending on which way it all develops and which way the studios go in the next year or so it could all change to either Blu-ray or HD DVD's favor quite fast, so I could just as well end up with HD DVD as my favorite again. This is a certaincy you have to live with as an early adopter of an HDM format. But I'd just prefer Blu-ray to win the format war after having read through more hours of material on this matter. But hell even many of the editors on the biggest and most respected magazined out there disagree and have each their favorite formats, so don't let this get to you ;)

Sorry I was just a bit too quick on making this thread, I thought I had read all there was to know and all opinions and arguments there was to consider. You could also just choose to buy into both formats. Just let the exclusive titles lead you! If you want to dive deeper into the issue with the formats themselfs just ask if you have any questions :)

Oh and if it's any consolation, most users over at the excellent place for HDM, hifidigest.com, seem to own slightly more and prefer slightly more of HD DVD:

If you are interested in Blu-Ray you probably should have waited until the final spec (2.0) players are released. All of the current BD players, including the new Panasonic profile 1.1 unit, will not be able to access all the features on future Blu-Ray profile 2.0 discs.

That actually is one advantage of HD DVD, the spec was finalized from the start and all of the players can utilize all of the features in movies released. With BD most are going to have to upgrade their players to get all the features.

If you are interested in Blu-Ray you probably should have waited until the final spec (2.0) players are released. All of the current BD players, including the new Panasonic profile 1.1 unit, will not be able to access all the features on future Blu-Ray profile 2.0 discs.

That actually is one advantage of HD DVD, the spec was finalized from the start and all of the players can utilize all of the features in movies released. With BD most are going to have to upgrade their players to get all the features.

If one is concerned about the developing profile of the Blu-ray format, one could choose a player that has the ability to update it's firmware to a newer profile spec. I know the PS3 and a few Samsung players can do this :)

But yeah the incomplete/inconsistent spec of Blu-ray is probably it's greatest disadvantage, one I also took into consideration when I finally made up my mind and balancing the equation into my personal choice, preferring Blu-ray.

BTW I haven't bought anything yet since whatever I'm gonna buy is gonna be a chrismas present for my dad, but I'm buying a PS3 sooner or later so I'm now just making that sooner. Instead of Heroes, which I will dearly miss in HD, I'll buy Planet Earth on Blu-ray instead.

IMO the fact that Blu-Ray allows executables to be run on your computer without your permission via BD+ Advanced Countermeasure automatically makes it by far the less consumer friendly choice. I won't let a BD drive or disc within 10 feet of my computer!